ESTORIL, May 4, 2019
The semi-finals of the Millennium Estoril Open are set. Top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas held off the successful run of Portuguese qualifier Joao Domingues, winning 7-6(3), 6-4 on Friday afternoon.
The World No. 10 from Greece broke his opponent’s serve three times to advance in one hour and 46 minutes.
“I was expecting a tough match. I knew I was going to make it hard for me on court. I didn’t start quite well, I got broken too early, but my biggest experience against top players ended up making all the difference,” Tsitsipas said.
Next up for Tsitsipas will be No. 4 seed David Goffin. The wild card entry from Belgium rallied past Malek Jaziri of Tunisia 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-2. Goffin won 53 per cent of the total points played to prevail after two hours and 36 minutes.
Alejandro Fokina keeps up the momentum
Spanish teenager Alejandro Davidovich Fokina continued his stunning run in Portugal. The 19-year-old Malaga native, who entered this tournament without a tour-level win, knocked out No. 3 seeded Frenchman Gael Monfils 6-7(2=, 7-5, 6-4. Davidovich Fokina capitalized on seven of his 12 break point chances to secure victory in two hours and 14 minutes.
The moment when it all happened: 🇪🇸 @alexdavidovich1 into Millennium @EstorilOpen SFs after winning the best match of the week.#EstorilOpen | @ATP_Tour pic.twitter.com/pBrUv07pOv
— Millennium #EstorilOpen (@EstorilOpen) 3. Mai 2019
“I played my first main draw match on the ATP Tour in Marrakech last month. Then I made it through the qualification here, winning my next matches and now I am going to be ready for tomorrow,” Davidovich Fokina said. “It was a great feeling to convert match point against a great player like Monfils. It was a very tough match.”
The Spaniard received a wild card into the ATP Masters 1000 in Madrid next week. “That’s great news. I am very thankful to Feliciano López, giving me the opportunity to compete in this great event.”
Monfils commented: “He was striking the ball really well, fearless and full of confidence. All credits to him for the victory,”
Davidovich Fokina will next challenge Pablo Cuevas. The lucky loser from Uruguay fought past No. 8 seeded US-American Frances Tiafoe 6-0, 6-7(5), 6-2 after two hours and six minutes.
